Ceva rebids for MIPS to stretch Imagination

LONDON – DSP processor licensor Ceva has raised its bid for the operating business of MIPS Technologies Inc. to $90 million, matching the cash balance of its rival in the bidding process.

Graphics processor licensor Imagination Technologies Group plc (Kings Langley, England) had a cash balance on hand of £54.5 million (about $90 million) as of Oct. 31, 2012, according to the company's interim results for the first six months of its fiscal year.

Imagination announced a deal for struggling processor IP company MIPS (Sunnyvale, Calif.) at the beginning of November in which Imagination would acquire the outstanding MIPS shares for $60 million in cash following the consummation of the proposed patent sale transaction for about $350 million with a consortium Bridge Crossing LLC led by ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England).

Ceva (Mountain View, Calif.) then offered $75 million for MIPS on the same terms driving Imagination to increase its bid to $80 million.

Ceva has emerged as one of the beneficiaries of the changing mobile handset IC market in recent years and earlier this year was talking about expanding its customer base and diversifying its revenue sources.